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Alrighty, folks! It’s time for the big “I’m a better person now and maybe next time we’ll all go vegan” post!!

So, if any of you weren’t aware, on December 23rd I challenged myself to 30 days of cleansing my life. And in case you weren’t fooled before, it was more of a “discovering my weaknesses” challenge.

I had set the ending date on the day of my SAT test (it went well, Praise God!) and included studying for that as an educational challenge in addition to the health, fitness, spiritual growth, social media fast, and general life reassessment *ahem*

My first step, as you may remember, was quitting the job that I had for the last year. Thankfully the transition to being unemployed has been amazing for my emotional well-being. Not so much for my bank account, but anyways. That post is coming later this week. 🙂

The health and fitness part was an interesting challenge because I’m a total foodie AND stress eater. However, my love for running seems to make up for that… for the most part. My siblings and friends dragged me out nearly every day for a 4+ mile run. I was kind of a failure with the muscle fitness routine I had planned (sorry, Hannah😢) but did get in quite a few workouts.

On to the social media fast. My main reason for doing this was to eliminate stress and to get back the time I would spend scrolling through other peoples business. I was about 95% succesful with that. I experienced less stress and spent more time doing things like writing, running, and talking to people in real life. The funny thing is, a LOT of people got engaged, married and had babies in those 30 days! Thanks, Facebook.

Now here’s the Jesus part! And I really hope you’re still reading. God has done some seriously cool things in my life this last month! He moved in hearts during coffee dates where acquaintances became new friends and old friends became closer friends because Jesus was there. He brought me to meeting several new people through unusual circumstances. There was even a total “God moment” where I found myself holding a friend who was bawling on my shoulder for ten minutes. A week later, she and I got to talk about how God was already using some really terrible situations in her life for good! What’s more? Over the last weeks, I’ve sensed God’s presence so much more. I’ve felt His smile in the sunshine and the rain and the sunsets that dip below the treeline. As a penpal of mine wrote me today “the difference is Jesus.” The difference is always Jesus.

So, I just wanted to give y’all a couple of examples of ways that we can tweek our daily routines to live healthier, happier lives and serve our God better! Always remember, the better YOU are doing physically/emotionally/spiritually, the more you can improve your environment and the living quality of those around you!

Is there something small that you want to challenge yourself with in this next month? Leave your thoughts in the comments!!

In chapter 13 of Beautiful Girlhood, Mabel Hale writes about Purpose. She states that “No man or woman has become noteworthy in any work or field of research unless they have worked on with steady purpose when circumstances were discouraging.”

You probably know someone like that. For me, it’s my grandmother. She is always working hard no matter how tired she is or anything else. She finds joy in service and has been a great Christian example to everyone around her.

“Make sure your purpose is worthy. It is a shame to waste the power and energy of purpose upon those things that are selfish and of little worth.”

No one, through selfishness, can attain greatness. It is only by doing right and following God’s will that one can reach the high places.

“Success is not always counted by dollars, or by worldly honors, but by noble and unselfish purposes.”

Many think that the richer you are, the more successful you are. According to the bible, that is not true. Proverbs 11:4 says “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” Being that this life is only a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow, why don’t we think in terms of the eternal. Righteousness and faith in God will assure our success, not physical wealth. I know as well as anyone that it is nice to have food on the table. But God is in control of that. Without Him we wouldn’t even be here.

Back to the subject, “If we are only half in earnest and our purpose is only a desire, then when the sun comes down upon us burning and smothering us, and we feel tired from our efforts, we will give up. But if our desire becomes a steady purpose to be successful in the thing we have undertaken, then we will not mind the sun and the heat and our weariness, but will work on with our purpose before us. We will keep a strong determination to succeed in what we have undertaken.”

God gives us the ability to persevere and to succeed in our endeavors.

I hope you have been blessed and improved by this study. I would greatly appreciate your feedback if this has helped you.

I would like to quote Mabel Hale once more. She ends chapter 13 by saying “Have a purpose and stay with it. Keep going. Don’t give up.”

I leave you with a word from Philippians 2:1-4

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in the spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.